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President Obama’s reversal of federal funding restrictions on research using embryonic stem cells prompted some interesting commentary last week, along with some related developments among local startups. We also have news about the expanding world of mobile media and wireless mapping technologies, so read on!

—San Diego’s Fate Therapeutics, which is developing drugs to spur stem cells into action, said last week it has recruited a couple of renowned scientific leaders to its roster. The company named Ken Batchelor, a former senior research executive at drug giant GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK), as its chief scientific officer and Dan Shoemaker, previously chief scientific officer at San Diego-based ICx Biosystems to be its chief technology officer.

—San Diego’s Victory Pharma raised $45 million in venture funding in a secondary round that included Essex Woodlands Health Ventures of Palo Alto, CA, and Ampersand Ventures of Wellesley, MA. Victory specializes in acquiring and developing drugs for treating pain and the side effects of other pain drugs.

—Researchers who have spent years collecting data on how universities can improve innovation gathered at UC San Diego last week for a Kauffman Foundation seminar. The work is intended to guide changes in four countries where new technologies play a key economic role: the United States, Japan, Canada, and the United Kingdom.